GMC Drops Opener in 2 OT
Boxscore
(Rutland, VT) - The College of St. Joseph Fighting Saints battled back from a 14 point 2nd half deficient to force overtime where, in the 2nd extra period, they pulled away for a hard-fought 87-82 victory over the visitors from Green Mountain College. CSJ improves to 2-0 on the young season while the Eagles drop to 0-1.
CSJ senior Tyler Herrington (Cambridge, NY) drilled a 3-pointer at the end of both regulation and the 1st overtime period to extend the game en route to a 20 point performance. Senior Doug Childs (Queens, NY) tallied 13 of his 20 points during the final 30 minutes and went 8-12 from the charity stripe while junior Jamaal Thomas (Detroit, MI) added 20 points on 8-13 shooting and grabbed a team-high 12 boards.
GMC senior Rui Carmo (Cape Coral, FL) dropped a game-high 21 points to add to his 12 rebounds while junior Gerard Johnson (Binghamton, NY) chipped in with 15 and 7 before fouling out late in the 2nd half. Freshman Vladimyr Sibera (Key West, FL) provided a spark off the bench for the Eagles tallying 18 points on 7 for 10 shooting.
After a tight opening 12 minutes, the Eagles began to assert themselves on the back of 53.6% shooting from the field and 6 of 12 from beyond the arc grabbing a 38-31 advantage at the break.
The Eagles continued to move the ball well in the 2nd half and began to pull away grabbing their biggest lead of the game when Sibera glided in for an easy layup with 6:47 remaining running the score to 48-62.
The Fighting Saints would respond over the final 6 minutes with a 20-6 run capped off by Herrington's 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to knot the game at 68. GMC senior Eddie Asieduo (Bronx, NY) would have a chance to win the game with 7 ticks remaining, but couldn't convert on a driving layup sending the game into overtime.
In the 1st extra stanza, GMC jumped out to a 5 point lead with 1:15 remaining, but once again CSJ battled back and tied the game at 75 on a Herrington 3 with 33 seconds left on the clock. The Eagles held for the last shot, but Sibera's jumper with 8 seconds left clanged off the iron forcing a 2nd extra period.
CSJ grabbed the lead for good with 3:16 remaining in the 2nd OT on a pair of Child's free-throws. The fighting Saints knocked down 5 of 7 from the charity stripe in the closing minutes and held the Eagles scoreless over the final 2:06 to ice the game.
Despite shooting 50.8% from the field, the Eagles struggled from the line going 9 for 25 on the day and 2 for 6 in the 2nd overtime.
Next up, GMC heads to the University of Rochester Chuck Resler Tournament. The Eagles are slated to face the host Yellowjackets Friday, November 20th at 8:00 pm followed by a 1:00 pm tilt against Brockport on Saturday.
